The working group’s activity is part of Tourism New Zealand’s strategy to drive higher-value visitors, with a focus on delivering value growth for the industry now, as well as in the medium and long-term. It is further supported by Tourism New Zealand’s recent increase in funding to up-scale the promotion of special interest travel from core markets.

Justin Watson, General Manager Marketing Communications, says golf has been identified as a priority special interest sector due to the number of high-value travellers it attracts, as well as its strong potential for growth.

“Golf is a popular international visitor activity. New Zealand has always been fortunate to have amongst the most golf courses per capita anywhere in the world. In recent years there has also been an enormous investment in both existing and new facilities, resulting in an outstanding opportunity to grow this highly valuable sector of our tourism industry.”

Meeting for the first time this week, the working group is comprised of five members: professional golfer and course designer Greg Turner (Chair); Geoff Burns; Peter Cutfield; Michael Goldstein and Chris Atkinson.  The group has been selected based on their cross section of professional skills in business, tourism and golf sectors.

The working group aims to produce a draft strategy for Tourism New Zealand by the end of June.

TIA Chief Executive Martin Snedden says that the new international-scale convention centre will benefit both the tourism industry and the wider New Zealand economy.

“This will allow New Zealand to target a new and lucrative market for large international conferences which we do not currently have the ability to host. We have lagged behind Australia and other international destinations which have major convention facilities,” Mr Snedden says.

“This is a completely untapped market segment for New Zealand, and will help us boost shoulder and low season travel.”

It is estimated that a national convention centre will boost New Zealand’s economy by more than $90 million a year. The centre  is expected to create 1000 jobs during construction, and another 800 positions once operational. It will also support many more jobs across the economy, including in the accommodation, catering, transport and retail sectors.

“Many conference delegates will travel around New Zealand before or after their events, while others will choose to return with their families for private holidays,” Mr Snedden says. Conference delegates are high-spending visitors, spending an average of $318 a night, compared to an international leisure visitor who spends around $208 a night.

TIA has long been advocating for New Zealand to receive an international convention centre, supported by a network of regional convention centres. New convention centres are also planned for Christchurch and Queenstown, and TIA believes that these will also serve to support the growth of New Zealand’s business tourism market.

Rotorua’s whopping 19.2 per cent boost was the key contributor to the region’s growth, but Bay of Plenty (up 7.1 per cent), Taupo (up 1.9 per cent) and Ruapehu (up 2.6 per cent) also benefited from more domestic visitor nights.

Oscar Nathan, Destination Rotorua Marketing general manager, says several key events drew big domestic crowds to Rotorua in February. “Te Matatini – the national kapa haka festival, was held at Rotorua International Stadium, which attracted thousands of participants and spectators. The inaugural Rotorua Bike Festival, the popular annual Raggamuffin music festival, and the Australasia IPSC Handgun Championships also contributed to strong demand for commercial accommodation.”

“We are very encouraged by the success of these events and as a result we have a renewed focus on attracting more high-quality national and international events to our city in the coming years,” says Nathan.

The city’s hotels and motels weren’t the only ones to benefit from Rotorua’s rise in popularity – tourism attraction sites also did a roaring trade. In February there was a 12.3 per cent increase in total visits to attractions that participate in the Rotorua Attraction and Activities Monitor, compared to the same time last year.

The change in timing of Chinese New Year from January last year to February this year was another key contributor to February’s growth, with Chinese visits to Rotorua attractions increasing from 34,200 to 63,000.

Nathan says Rotorua’s tourism leaders will take great heart from the encouraging results provided by the latest statistics, and will continue to focus on effective ways of marketing their businesses and the region as a whole.

Tasting Time @ Monteith’s Brewing Company … at Monteith’s Brewing Company, we love beer. We’re also really proud of our newly refurbished brewery and kitchen, which serves up the finest fare taken from the rugged sea, bush and land of Monteith’s Country. Wash it down with your choice from our extensive range of handcrafted beers on tap. So what are you waiting for; come on in, take one of our legendary tours, then grab yourself a seat and soak up the ambience of our place and our craft brewery experience right here in the heart of the West Coast. It just doesn’t get any better or any fresher than this.

Making the sale: Experience West Coast hospitality – and its finest local beer!

Operating hours: 7 days, 10am – 7:30pm. Tour times: 10:30am, 3pm, 4:30pm, 6pm. Price: Tours from $20, tasting trays from $18.

A digital version of New Zealand Trade Manual 2013 was launched at Tourism Industry Rendezvous New Zealand (TRENZ) in Auckland this week, with CDs in the buyers’ satchels delivering the ‘ultimate guide to selling New Zealand’ directly into the hands of travel buyers from all over the globe. This is a brand-new initiative from the publishers of New Zealand Trade Manual, enabling buyers to take home a copy of the latest manual while avoiding any excess baggage fees! They’ll be able to view the publication in both flipping book and PDF versions, and print pages as required, making the industry’s favourite New Zealand Trade Manual even more of an essential tool for NZ travel wholesalers and retailers. As in 2012, the latest issue of New Zealand Trade Manual also includes the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand Inbound Travel Directory. And if you’re in the travel trade but you didn’t make it to TRENZ this year, don’t worry – a copy of the New Zealand Trade Manual 2013 publication will be winging its way straight to your desk in May.

Capacity: 9 therapy rooms. Open: Daily 9am – 9pm Restaurant & Spa Cuisine: Mokoia Restaurant (fully licenced).

Journey high above Lake Taupo with views of volcanoes and coastline. Skydive from 15,000 feet with over one minute in freefall! Experience the adventure with New Zealand’s original tandem skydiving company, operating since 1992. With the largest range of camera options, multi-lingual staff and Qualmark endorsement, your skydive will be unforgettable.

Open: All year except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day (weather permitting). Duration: 45 seconds – 1 minute freefall. Price: 15,000 ft  $339, 12,000 ft  $249.

Duration: 2.5 hours. Season: All year. Operating hours: Daily (weather permitting) 6am, 9am & 1pm (summer); 9am & 1pm (winter).

Also strongly supported by Christchurch Airport, the campaign is called Christchurch Reimagined and is aimed at challenging Australians’ perceptions of Christchurch by demonstrating how the South Island’s gateway city has changed since the earthquakes and developed a creative and exciting new identity.

CEO of Christchurch Airport Jim Boult is right behind the campaign: “This is a great initiative and we fully support it. The number of Australians arriving here has dropped since the earthquakes, largely because many still think the city is broken and dull.”

“How wrong they are! There’s a lot going on, plenty to see and more to do every week, as new places open … all of which also means job opportunities for young Aussies who might want to stay a while.”

The advertisement was launched on newzealand.com on 23 August with the first television campaign work taking place in Australia on 26 August.

New Zealand Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key yesterday launched the Japan market version of the advertisement at a special tourism function at the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo.

The campaign includes a Japanese voice-over of the original advertisement, and translated campaign pages on newzealand.com/jp.

Chief Executive Kevin Bowler says the number of plays of the advertisement is a fantastic start, given that campaign work will continue to roll out across markets through to the first week of October promoting even more viewership.

“The full strength of our 100% Middle-earth marketing will not be felt until the end of November when the campaign has rolled out across all our markets and we build up toward the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington.”

“Our objective across all our marketing work is to compel people already interested in a New Zealand holiday, to make the decision to go.”

“The advertisement illustrates that much of what people see in the Hobbit films is actually a real place just waiting to be explored. Not only that but you can have some amazing adventures and experiences within our movie-like landscapes.”

For in-market campaigns, the advertisement will also be translated into German and Chinese.